Kojima Productions Archive

The Australian Classification Board has assigned a rating of M to the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Novel Pack, a pack containing the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel released previously on the PSP, and its sequel Metal Gear Solid: Bande Dessinee.

The graphic novels, written by Kris Oprisko and illustrated by Australian artist Ashley Wood are based on the first and second Metal Gear Solid games respectively. They were released in paper form from 2004, before being converted to motion comics with voices provided by many of the original cast members.

There is some sentiment that this could be a sign of a separate retail release for the graphic novel pack, as previously seen in Japan, but it is more than likely that this rating just refers to the disc that is included in the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection, due to hit Australian retail stores in September,

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a remake of Metal Gear Solid using the technology from Metal Gear Solid 2. The game is often criticised for its over-the-top cutscenes, which were directed by Japanese cult filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura. Some also feel that the accentless voices take away from the game, in spite of the fact that they are consistent with the rest of the series. I feel like I am in the minority since I actually like the game.

Metal Gear Solid was one of the biggest hits of the 1998 rush, and its impact on video games through the use of high production values and cinematic cutscenes is felt to this day. Gaming needs more Cybernetic Ninjas.

Kojima Productions is hard at work on Zone of the Enders HD Edition, which will be released on October 25 in Japan – and like every other KojiPro release, it’ll be getting the premium package treatment.

The package is quite similar to the Metal Gear Solid HD Edition package from last year, with the game, a sturdy outer box, a CD soundtrack featuring remixed tracks from the games, the Chronicle Artbook (containing the art from the 2001 and 2003 premium packages) and the reBOOT Artbook (which looks at the HD edition’s development). It’ll cost you ¥8,980 for this package on either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

Of course, those with a bit more scratch could opt for the Konamistyle edition, which takes the above and throws in a Blu Ray featuring the Zone of the Enders Idolo original video animation and an Idolo illustrations book featuring more Yoji Shinkawa art. The Konamistyle Edition will cost ¥9,980.

As part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Metal Gear series this year, Konami and Kojima Productions have been working with Square Enix to produce figures of the most popular characters from the series.

The first figure, the Cyborg Ninja/Gray Fox, is now available in Japan. You can get it for 4400yen from AmiAmi.

The lighting in this room is awful, but I figured you all might like to see the actual box and figure, rather than the same old promotional stills.

Zone of the Enders HD Collection is set to launch this Autumn, according to a release from Konami.

Unofficial reports and retailer dates originally had the collection primed for a May release, but this does not appear to be the case.

The collection also appears to be getting a lot more attention than first thought, with images of redone introductory cutscenes recently being touted by Hideo Kojima. It was also recently revealed that the collection will feature the superior Special Edition release of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, which was not released in North America.

Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions (or VR Missions for our American brethren) is a mission pack featuring 300+ VR training missions, similar to the half dozen that were on the original Metal Gear Solid disc. The expansion was actually the second disc of the game’s Japanese re-release Metal Gear Solid: Integral, which was an improved version of the original game, but Konami decided to release it by itself outside of Japan. This ad is for the French release.